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Wednesday, July 7, 2010

I had not realized how busy I would be,while signing up to host the Sweet Punch challenge for July!I had major plans in my head as to how to finish all my pending chores before leaving to my hometown for my brothers' weddings.The few days before I came here just whizzed past and all my plans of baking the challenge much ahead of time vanished in thin air.I did not give up hope,still.I had better plans,thought of baking it from here,in midst of all wedding drama while I didn't foresee that entering into the kitchen to get a glass of water too would be a big task!!

I am sure resuming blogging is going to be a tough task as I am sure I'll have trouble going back to my kitchen and cooking after one whole month of staying away from it!!

Coming back to Sweet Punch.I smelt trouble a few days back when I thought about how it would look if the host herself skipped the challenge.As always,my vanni came to my rescue and she has done the challenge on my behalf in such a short notice.I can't thank you enough for this vanni,you are a sweet♥!!

Introducing Lakshmi Kudua-

Many of you already know her through my blog posts and some through the wonderful cakes she makes,I got so many comments when her cake was included in this round-up.I am pestering her to start a blog of her own!!Over to her..

This is my first ever guest post and what a lovely way to start it with A Sweet punch. I've been baking cakes for a long time now and have been asked to start a blog by many a friends but I have been hesitant all the while...a request from Divya to feed her blog was something I couldn't say No to.So I went ahead and baked the cupcakes and hence this guest post in her absence. These cupcakes are dedicated to the loving sweet bond that we have between us and hope it continues the same way!!

I halved the recipe and got around 14 cupcakes.The cupcakes were supermoist which made it a tad difficult to fill them.I included some roasted hazelnuts in the filling which made it extra delicious!!Topped the cupcakes with Ganache and some sprinkles.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light. Beat in eggs one at a time, followed by sour cream and vanilla extract.

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. Add half of flour mixture to the butter mixture, followed by the sour cream and vanilla extract, followed by the addition of the rest of the flour mix. Stir well between each addition and mix until no streaks of flour remain.

Stir the cocoa powder and the dark chocolate into the boiling water (easiest in a large measuring cup). Pour chocolate water into the rest of the batter and stir until uniform.

Evenly distribute batter into prepared baking cups. Bake for 13-15 minutes, until a tester comes out clean and the cakes spring back when lightly pressed. (It’s fine if you can’t fit both trays into the oven at the same time, just wait until one batch finishes before putting in the second pan)

Turn cupcakes out onto a wire rack to cool completely before frosting and filling.

Vanilla Cream Filling

3 tbsp all purpose flour

1/2 cup milk (low fat is fine)

1/2 cup butter (or trans fat-free shortening)

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 scraped vanilla bean or 1 tsp vanilla extract

Whisk together the flour and milk and cook in a small saucepan over medium heat until thick. This will only take a few minutes. Sir continuously to prevent the mixture from clumping and do not bring all the way to a boil. When thickened (consistency will be that of a thin pudding or custard), strain with a mesh strainer into a small bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let cool completely to room temperature.

When the milk mixture is cool, cream the butter (or shortening) and sugar together in a medium bowl until lightl. Add in the milk/flour mixture and the scraped vanilla bean seeds (or vanilla extract) and beat at high speed with an electrick mixer for 7 minutes, until light and fluffy. Scrape into a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip, or a large ziplock bag with the corner cut off, and set aside until ready to fill your cupcakes.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2-3 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and beat, with an electric mixer, until frosting is creamy, 3-5 minutes. Add additional powdered sugar as needed to achieve a thick, but not stiff, frosting that is easy to spread. Add additional milk, if necessary, to thin the frosting if it gets too thick.

Assembly

Take a cooled cupcake and, using a small pairing knife, cut a cone of cake (1-inch across by 1-inch deep) out of the top. Trim off the pointy end of the cone, leaving a flat circle of cake. Set aside and repeat this process for all the cupcakes.

Take the cream filling and squeeze a tablespoon or so into each cupcake cavity, filling the hole up to the top with filling. Top off with a flat circle of cake to plug the hole and keep the filling in place.

Using a butter knife or a small offset spatula, frost each cupcake with a layer of chocolate buttercream frosting. Place a dollop of icing in the center of the cupcake (on top of the cut out circle of cake) and spread from the center to the sides of the cupcake.

If you have leftover filling, transfer it to a fresh ziploc bag and cut a very small opening in one corner. Pipe a swirly line down the center of each cupcake.

Store in an airtight container until ready to serve.

Makes 2-dozen.

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Thank you so much Vanni.

Now it is my turn to apologise.I am sorry if I was not available to answer your queries[if any] regarding this month's challenge.I was held up with something so important and I promise it wouldn't be the same next time when I host the challenge:).Hope all of you enjoyed making Cream filled cupcakes and are gearing up for the next challenge!!

U r so lucky to be blessed with beautiful peoples around u Divya, that so nice of ur vanni for making these beauties, looks fantastic..i thoroughly enjoyed making and having these cupcakes..thanks for this beautiful challenge..

Lakshmi..great job..loved the decoration, recipe n pics too! Wot-a-treat..honestly go for it...Blog out ur bakes! Thks Divu for showcasing such a skilled baker-decorator..my good wishes to both of you!